US Ambassador: Frank acknowledgement of the facts behind 1915 events in the interests of Armenia and Turkey

“A full and frank acknowledgement of the facts behind the horrible events and this terrible set of massacres and tragedies that occurred is in the interest of both Turkey and Armenia,” newly appointed US Ambassador to Turkey John Bass said in an interview with the Hurriyet Daily News.

Asked whether the US is going to recognize the Armenian massacres of 1915 as genocide in 2015, the Ambassador said: “What I would say about that today is that we have been quite clear as a government about our views on the circumstances and the events that transpired in this horrible tragedy beginning in 1915, as you see from our statements this past year on Armenian Remembrance Day and in prior years.”

“We continue to believe that a full and frank acknowledgement of the facts behind those horrible events and this terrible set of massacres and tragedies that occurred is in the interest of both Turkey and Armenia, and important to building the kind of the relationship going forward between the two countries that we believe is in the interest of both countries and in the end, our shared interest with Turkey and building and strengthening stability in this region,” Ambassador Bass said.